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How to ensure I inherit my father's house?

including wills and probate
zico
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How to ensure I inherit my father's house?

#442067

Postby zico » September 14th, 2021, 10:15 am

My situation is that I jointly own my father's house (I think as tenants in common) and he lives there with a lady friend (also very elderly).
Although he's quite old now, he is mentally sharp, and his current will and his wishes are for me to inherit his house.

My concern is that his "girlfriend's" family are becoming very influential with him, and may over time induce him to leave his half of the property to her, so on my father's death, I'd have to share ownership with them.

I thought beneficial tenancy might be a solution, as on the death of me or my father, the house automatically reverts to the survivor.
But I've just found out that either party can end beneficial tenancy without needing the consent of the other.

Is there a legal way that I can ensure mine and my father's current wishes are respected? For example, by us jointly signing a legally binding document agreeing that both of us must leave the house to the other, unless both of us subsequently agree otherwise?

This might sound mercenary but I'm concerned that there has been evidence of my father being manipulated by her and her family.

Any help or advice gratefully received.

Spet0789
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Re: How to ensure I inherit my father's house?

#442072

Postby Spet0789 » September 14th, 2021, 10:29 am

zico wrote:My situation is that I jointly own my father's house (I think as tenants in common) and he lives there with a lady friend (also very elderly).
Although he's quite old now, he is mentally sharp, and his current will and his wishes are for me to inherit his house.

My concern is that his "girlfriend's" family are becoming very influential with him, and may over time induce him to leave his half of the property to her, so on my father's death, I'd have to share ownership with them.

I thought beneficial tenancy might be a solution, as on the death of me or my father, the house automatically reverts to the survivor.
But I've just found out that either party can end beneficial tenancy without needing the consent of the other.

Is there a legal way that I can ensure mine and my father's current wishes are respected? For example, by us jointly signing a legally binding document agreeing that both of us must leave the house to the other, unless both of us subsequently agree otherwise?

This might sound mercenary but I'm concerned that there has been evidence of my father being manipulated by her and her family.

Any help or advice gratefully received.


There is a very simple potential solution. You should ensure that you are joint tenants of the house and not tenants in common. That way full ownership of the property will automatically pass to the other upon death precisely as you describe. This is relatively clean assuming you currently have equal shares in the house and no mortgage.

https://www.gov.uk/joint-property-owner ... nt-tenants

Without doubt you should consult a solicitor.

Though I am not an expert, I don’t believe one can easily bind one’s future self and restrict the ability to change the disposition of assets in a will. Of course there may be other routes to achieve your aim but joint tenancy seems to do the trick.

swill453
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Re: How to ensure I inherit my father's house?

#442075

Postby swill453 » September 14th, 2021, 10:36 am

I think it's the case that a joint tenancy can be unilaterally severed by either party, turning it back into a tenants in common arrangement.

Scott.

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Re: How to ensure I inherit my father's house?

#442076

Postby monabri » September 14th, 2021, 10:36 am

So, what happens to the "lady friend" if your dad dies first? Would you turf her out of your house if you owned it 100%? I can see that the other family might have some concerns!

zico
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Re: How to ensure I inherit my father's house?

#442078

Postby zico » September 14th, 2021, 10:42 am

Yes, a joint tenancy can be unilaterally severed, so that doesn't really provide any protection for the potential situation that may arise.

The "lady friend" has voluntarily put herself in this situation by selling her house, when she could just have kept it to return to in the event of my father's death. As you say, it would put us in a difficult position, which is why we should have been consulted (and of course, it's why we weren't consulted!).

It seems there is a legal principle that anyone of sound mind can't commit to a course of action they'd want to change later - that's what wills are for.

So the only way for me to be 100% sure of getting the house would be to ask my father to transfer all the ownership to me now. Does that sound right, or are there any other options.

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Re: How to ensure I inherit my father's house?

#442083

Postby swill453 » September 14th, 2021, 10:56 am

Would there be any value in getting him to give you Power of Attorney now?

Scott.

Dod101
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Re: How to ensure I inherit my father's house?

#442086

Postby Dod101 » September 14th, 2021, 10:59 am

It would surely be normal for a surviving partner, wife, girlfriend or whatever to be given the right to remain in the house until she died and then any underlying provisions would come into play. If that is what the other family wants that is not unreasonable.

If they want your father to change his Will- is the matter in his Will?'- that is another matter but he is of course entitled to leave his half to whomever he likes, depending on how the title is currently worded. You need to find out exactly what title is on the property at the moment (possibly via a solicitor) and then ask the solicitor if and how you can protect your prospective inheritance from manipulation. I would have thought that rather difficult and post mortem proving manipualation could be expensive and probably difficult.

You could of course be prepared to offer for them to buy you out and that would remove any concern for you. Get your father's agreement though.

The lesson, too late for you now though, is to be very careful about joint ownership like this and try to think of every possible scene.

Just read your final suggestion. Were I your father I would probably tell you where to go, because you are going to arouse all sorts of emotions in his head, and you might even be guilty of attempting to manipulate him yourself.

Dod

Spet0789
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Re: How to ensure I inherit my father's house?

#442125

Postby Spet0789 » September 14th, 2021, 12:33 pm

zico wrote:Yes, a joint tenancy can be unilaterally severed, so that doesn't really provide any protection for the potential situation that may arise.

The "lady friend" has voluntarily put herself in this situation by selling her house, when she could just have kept it to return to in the event of my father's death. As you say, it would put us in a difficult position, which is why we should have been consulted (and of course, it's why we weren't consulted!).

It seems there is a legal principle that anyone of sound mind can't commit to a course of action they'd want to change later - that's what wills are for.

So the only way for me to be 100% sure of getting the house would be to ask my father to transfer all the ownership to me now. Does that sound right, or are there any other options.


I think that’s correct, short of something far more complicated like a trust structure. Ultimately as you say, you can’t prevent him from changing the disposition of his assets while he is of sound mind. And rightly so!

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Re: How to ensure I inherit my father's house?

#442487

Postby Fiddlesticks » September 15th, 2021, 2:13 pm

I don't think that the trust solution is so outlandish and under the circumstances it might well provide a fair outcome, and also one which largely achieves what you want.

Your father could irrevocably transfer the house now to trustees. There would need to be a trust instrument which could specify, for example, that the trustees hold it for his benefit while he is alive, subsequently for his partner to live in for the rest of her days, but then ultimately to pass to you upon her death. Once your father makes the lifetime gift into the trust he will not be able to go back on it.

Depending on the size of your father's estate there may well be inheritance tax issues which would need to be considered.

One thing which you should be aware of is the possibility of a claim by your father's partner under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. No matter what his will says, anyone whom he has supported during his lifetime, and in particular a partner who has lived with him, may well have a claim to "reasonable finacial provision" if that person is excluded from the will. If you doggedly stick to an insistence that the house passes to you on your father's death, and if that would leave her homeless or otherwise financially inadequately provided for, then you might find yourself with an expensive battle on your hands after your father's death. That would be one good reason to give her a lifetime interest in the house (or at least in enough capital to accommodate her).

Anyway, it is all rather complicated and if you wish to explore these issues properly you clearly would need to have proper legal advice.

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Re: How to ensure I inherit my father's house?

#442490

Postby AWOL » September 15th, 2021, 2:33 pm

If I was single I would hesitate before inviting another woman to shack up with me because I've got strong reasons for wishing to pass the wealth onto my children. If future me was to invite another woman to live with me then it would either be because I was confident that I had secured the outcome that I wished by some legal means or that she is so hot and I am so in love that I want to ensure she is provided for. I think you need to share your fears with your father and ascertain what his wishes are. A trip to the pub or a walk on the hills are two examples of the kind of way I'd get onto neutral territory without an audience for such a discussion. He wouldn't want you worrying but his thoughts may not be what you think they are. You need to give him an opportunity to help you with your worries and in turn learn how the land lies.

PS- If Mrs AWOL reads this, I have no one specific in mind nor a general desire this is purely hypothetical and not a contingency plan!

zico
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Re: How to ensure I inherit my father's house?

#443523

Postby zico » September 19th, 2021, 11:12 am

Many thanks for some really helpful replies and suggestions.

I managed to get my father out for lunch - just the two of us - and had a good long discussion with him. He listened to my concerns about his girlfriends family without getting annoyed, but he doesn't think he's being influenced. He emphasised that his intention is that his house passes entirely to me on his death. He said he does not want to get married and the subject has never been raised by either him or his girlfriend. Of course that may well change soon, but if it does, I've alerted him to my concerns, and told him it would be very suspicious if marriage is raised immediately after her assets have been sold. (He also said that even if he got married, I would still inherit the house because that's in his will - even though I told him marriage invalidates all existing wills.)

He knows what he wants to happen on his death and so thinks there is no need to take any kind of legal precaution. He also thinks his girlfriend would never make a claim on his house through co-habitation rights.

The trust idea is a good one, so if the subject of marriage is raised by them (as I suspect it will be) it may sound more acceptable to him than signing over his house entirely to me.

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Re: How to ensure I inherit my father's house?

#443638

Postby 9873210 » September 19th, 2021, 5:36 pm

zico wrote: it would be very suspicious if marriage is raised immediately after her assets have been sold.


Selling her house is not a disposal of assets. It simply converts an illiquid asset to cash. If she was self supported before she should still be able to self support after. If the couple separately or jointly spend the cash that's a different problem.

One possible solution (which could be in a pre-nup or trust) would be a buy sell arrangement, where on your fathers death her cash would be converted back into (your late father's) house and your father's estate would get the cash.


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